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NEW YORK—Global Lens 2012, screening at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) through Jan. 28, is unique in that four of the series’ ten award-winning films are by first-time directors: Gustavo Pizzi of Brazil, Carlos Osuna of Colombia, Tolga Karacelik of Turkey, and Kivu Ruhorahoza of Rwanda.
Now in its ninth season of collaboration between MoMA and Global Film Initiative (GFI), this year’s series comprises feature films from Albania, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Iran, Iraq, Morocco, Rwanda, and Turkey. All have been shot in their native tongues, with English subtitles.
Susan Weeks Coulter, Board Chair of GFI, stated in a recent press release, “The cinematics are strong, the tone is fresh and the stories are thought-provoking, and unlike anything we’ve seen before.”
From Friday (Jan. 20), one can catch eight of the ten films, most of which offer more than one screening each. “Matiere grise” (“Grey Matter”), written and directed by Kivu Ruhorahoza, is set in the Rwandan capital of Kigali and follows a determined filmmaker’s futile attempts to fund his first feature. Centered in the aftermath of genocide, it embodies the tense nature of political violence.
“Amnistia” (“Amnesty”), written and directed by Bujar Alimani, deals with a newly enacted law permitting conjugal visits in Albanian prisons, in this case bringing about an unexpected friendship between a man and woman visiting their respective spouses. When the law suddenly takes effect, everyone’s former equilibrium is shaken.
The Moroccan film “Pegase” (“Pegasus”), written and directed by Mohamed Mouftakir, is a psychological thriller dealing with an emotionally exhausted woman psychiatrist assigned to treat a disturbed young woman.
In “Soog” (“Mourning”), directed and cowritten by Morteza Farshbaf, a middle-aged couple try to hide a secret truth from their young nephew. The film is a subtly humorous meditation on communication.
In “El Dedo” (“The Finger”) from Argentina, directed by Sergio Teubal, when democracy comes to a small village, its first-ever mayoral election is set to take place. Competition brings about tragedy, with one citizen vowing revenge on a culprit. Oddly enough, this film is termed a dramatic comedy.
“Gordo, Calvo y Bajito” (“Fat, Bald, Short Man”), directed by Colombian Carlos Usuna, who cowrote the screenplay with Juan Mauricio Ruiz, is an animated feature. It features Antonio, a lonesome, middle-aged virgin enduring constant torment at the hands of coworkers and his brother. Antonio is later rescued when a reformer replaces his outgoing boss.
The Argentine political drama “El Premio” (“The Prize”), written and directed by Paula Markovitch, takes place during the years of Argentine dictatorship, as an anxious mother and daughter flee Buenos Aires. But the political upheaval follows them.
“Qarantina,” written and directed by Oday Rasheed (Iraq), displays a broken family in Baghdad that comes to depend on an ominous stranger who has intruded into their lives.
Films shown prior to Jan. 20 are “Gise Memuru” (“Toll Booth”) and “Riscado” (“Craft”).
Following the MoMA showings, the films will embark on a yearlong tour in more than 50 cities across the United States and Canada.For schedule information, please visit www.moma.org/visit/calendar/films or call (212) 708-9400.
Diana Barth writes about theater and film for The Epoch Times and other publications.
